1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to devices for removing contaminants from a gas, such as air, and in particular to an improved wet scrubber filtration device.
2. Related Art
In industries where plant operations yield high levels of gaseous and/or particulate contaminants, air scrubbers have been known for reducing or removing such pollutants from an airstream prior to release of the airstream into an internal or external atmosphere. Such industries include, e.g., the tobacco processing industry, chemical plants, bakeries, and hotels. Air scrubbers have also been used to remove pollutants from airstreams that are produced by furnaces, incinerators, other systems which utilize combustion, and the like.
Wet air scrubbers, which spray liquid into the airstream as part of the cleansing process, have seen especially wide use due to their ability to remove very fine particulates and gases from the airstream. Such wet air scrubbers typically utilize one or more spray nozzles to spray water and/or neutralizing chemicals into the air stream and then impart a rotational swirling action to the air stream in order to precipitate the liquid back out after it has absorbed contaminants. However, wet air scrubbers of the prior art have suffered from several drawbacks, including inefficiency, a tendency to become clogged with contaminants, high costs of manufacturing and maintenance, and unacceptably high levels of particulate emission through exhaust air and water vapor. Further, wet air scrubbers often emit large quantities of water mist and require complex and expensive mist-eliminator devices for peak operation.